Brother: Former No. 1 Safina to retire at 25 due to back injury
Because she reached No. 1 in the rankings at the age of 22 and never backed it up with a Grand Slam victory, history will remember Dinara Safina more for what she didn't do than what she did. The Russian made three appearances in Grand Slam finals, won 12 singles titles, took home an Olympic silver medal and became part of the first brother-sister tandem to ever reach No. 1 in the tennis rankings. But, fairly or unfairly, it's the lack of major titles that will define her.
On Friday, the 25-year-old retired from professional tennis, according to her brother, Marat Safin. Chronic back pain hastened her decline from the top of the game, then, earlier this year, forced her to take a break from the sport from which she hoped to return. At the time, she said she didn't want to "torture myself and my body any longer."
Reaching No. 1 on April 20, 2009 proved to be an albatross for the young Russian. Like Jelena Jankovic before her and Caroline Wozniacki after, the lack of Grand Slam titles left her a paper champion in the eyes of the media and fans, and put her on the defensive based on nothing but an illogical computer ranking. If she had stayed Slamless at No. 2, like Vera Zvonareva, or had a long career as a bridesmaid like Elena Dementieva, the opinions might differ. Then, she'd be the talented, hard-working, bad-luck player who staved off injury for long enough to carve out a nice career for herself.
This week, she talked to ESPN about her 18 months at the top of the sport.
"When I think back, what I did in a year and a half, I mean, no one could imagine me doing this. Nobody ever believed that I could be No. 1 in the world. I proved it. I did the best I could. I hope that for young girls I can be an example for them that if you work hard, you can reach everything."
If this indeed is the end of the line for Safina, remember her for that, not for what might have been.
Update: Safina addressed her brother's statements on her Twitter page:
My sweet tweeties, I didn't make yet any official announcement... Give my please some time and I'll let u all know... Right now I want to Take care of my back, on Tuesday i'm having a treatment... Ones I'll decide something U'll be the first to know I promise!! Love u all
If you're a glass all-full sort of person, you'll say, "Good, she didn't retire." Otherwise, you can read between the lines at what she didn't say ("I'm coming back") and figure it out yourself.
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